Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 63866 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63866 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
"When we walked out of the shop, there was a man in an SUV parked two spots back. Light blond hair and a narrow nose." He was sitting in the driver's seat. "He was fidgeting with his phone, not paying attention to anything around him. I'd guess within the last week he blew out a tire. The front left was brand-new. There was—"
"All right, I was only teasing about the girls. I know you're obsessed with me, you weirdo stalker." A giant smug smile lights up her face. If I can keep that expression on her, I’ll be a weirdo stalker every day. "How do you remember all this shit? I can't remember what I had for dinner yesterday."
"I made you a steak with a baked potato with extra of all the toppings."
"They're the best part. But that's what I'm saying. That's cool, but I'm sure it's also annoying for people when you argue with them."
"Doesn't affect you. No one can dodge a question with another or pretend they didn't hear a question or statement altogether better than you."
"Why, thank you," Ellie says with an adorable tartness.
"What's up with Nick?" She made a face for a reason, and I want to know why. There’s a story there.
"I haven't seen him in, like, a year, but I also don't linger here. He lives mostly in the outworld." The outworld is what they call being off the compound.
Ellie’s dad, Frank, opens the front door, stepping outside. All my hackles rise when I see a young man walk out behind him. I know that’s Nick.
“Of course he’s here. He’s always kissing my dad’s ass,” Ellie mutters. The kid stares toward us. He’s tense. I can read that off of him from here. Frank, however, has a giant grin on his face.
Each day I was here I got to know Frank and let him get to know me. I’m not big on opening up to people, but if Frank asked me anything, I answered it the best I could. I made my intentions clear with him when it came to Ellie.
He didn’t give me much pushback. Frank isn’t bad at reading people, either, at least when they’re not close to him. That can blur the lines for people. He knew I wasn’t fucking around when it came to his daughter, and I’d die before I let anything happen to her.
"Am I going to have a problem with this kid?" I ask Ellie, putting the truck into park.
"No, why?"
"He's appearing like a pissed-off boyfriend." His arms are folded over his chest, revealing some ink on his biceps. He thinks he’s tough, but I can guarantee I would have him pissing his pants in fear within minutes.
"I don't know why; he's been in the…" Ellie trails off, thinking. Good, that means she doesn't give him enough thought to recall things in his life.
"In the Marines," I fill in for her.
"Right." She snaps her fingers, like she always does when recalling something. "Wait, so you know who he is."
"No."
"You read that off looking at him." Ellie squints, staring toward Nick.
"Yes, eyes on me," I grumble.
"Oh my God." Ellie bursts into a fit of giggles, pulling my attention off the man who has a death wish. Her sweet sounds are cooling my irritation. "You sound like a bear."
"You and those shifter romance books."
"Hey! Did you open my Kindle?"
“Opened it, read a few pages.” I shrug. I’ve overheard those girls talking about their books a few times.
Why would I pass up finding out what Ellie might be into? I’ll use every tool I have to get what I want. Whether it be tools for torture or information to get my girl to stalk me harder.
“I can’t believe you’d invade my privacy that way.” Now it’s me that barks a laugh. I reach over, cupping the back of her neck to pull her toward me.
I meet her halfway, claiming that cute mouth of hers. I kiss her hard and deep, and maybe I want the fucker on the porch to understand things really fucking clearly.
“You’re a menace.” Ellie gasps when I lift my mouth from hers. “My dad is right there.”
“And?” Not sure what the fuck that has to do with anything.
“You can’t be kissing me like that in front of my dad.”
“We share a bed in his home, and I’m up your ass most of the time. I think he knows.” I glance out the front windshield. “And Nick knows too.”
“You’re kissing me because you’re jealous.”
“I kiss you for a lot of reasons, little fox.”
"But you're jealous?" I smile widely, loving that she’s asking because she wants to make sure that I am, not that she doesn’t want me to be.
"I'm jealous of the air you breathe."
"Because it gets inside of me." She snorts a laugh. "All right, don't go cutting out his eyes or Hulk-smashing him. He's a local."